Automatic firearm.



lw. uuo,u/. Patented Sept 24, |90l. G. RUTH C. KRNKA. AUTDMATIC FIREABM. (Application Bled Apr. 14, 1000.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. (583,072A Patented Sept. 24, 190|. G. ROTH C. KRNKA.

AUTUMATIC FIREBM.

(Application filed Apr. 14, 1900.)

(No Modem 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Sept. 24, |905.

E. ROTH C. KBNKA.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

(Appumion med Apx. 14, 1900.)

3 Shouts-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

wwe @ara VUNITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

GEORGES ROTH AND CHARLES KRNKA, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 683,072, dated September 24, 1901.

Application filed April 14,1900. Serial No. 12,916. (No model.)

To all whom, it' Wray concern:

llc it known that we, GEORGES ROTH and CHARLES KRNKA, subjects of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, residing at No. 50 Rennweg, Vienna, Empire of Austria-Hungary, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to automatic rearms; and it consists, essentially, in means for locking the barrel in a rearward position and in retaining the same in such position until the movable breech-block has been properly locked and is in position for firing the next shot.

The invention also comprises certain improvements in the magazine and cartridgelifting device, improvements in connection with the trigger-actuating mechanism, and a safety device in connection with thehammer, all as hereinafter particularly set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

In order to render the present specification easily intelligible, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference denote similar parts th roughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a pistol embodying my invention, showing the trigger cocked, the barrel locked, and the breech-block unlocked. Fig. 2 is a similar view showiu g the pistol immediately after iiring, with the barrel unlocked and the breechblock locked. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the pistol, with the position of the magazine when loading shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section and end elevation of the forward barrel-lock. Fig. 5 is a side elevation and cross-sections on the lines I I and Il 1I, respectively, of the forward barrel end, showing the locking-lugs. Fig. G isaside elevation, partly in section, on the line lll lll of Fig. 6a of the breech-block. Fig. 6 isaplan of the same. Fig. 7 is a part longitudinal section through the stock. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the butt; Fig. S, a cross-section on the line IV 1V of Fig. 8, and Fig. 9 a part longitudinal section through the lower end of the butt and magazine.

Referring first moreparticularly to Figs. 1, 2, 4, 6, and 6, the breech-block 2 is mountcd to slide in the stock 1 and may be divided into two main parts-vi'z., the hammer mech'- anism 3, Fig. 6, and the forward part 4,- having the cartridge-openings 8 and 9 and the' barrel-guidinggrooves 10. Thesegroovesare connected with the vertical end grooves or nal direction of either the barrel or the breechblock will move the said barrel'. The breechblock is guided by means of its lugs 12, which engage in the horizontal grooves 13 of the interior of the stock, Fig. 7, and the lugs 22 of the barrel 2l are provided with slanting or inclined sides 23, Fig. 5, to enable them to properly turn into and out of the curved grooves 24 11. The front end of the barrel is provided with inclinedl lugs 2O and is guided in the forward locking-cylinder 15, the construction of which will be clearly seen from Fig. 4. The locking cylinder contains two annular grooves 17 and 18, which are connected by inclined grooves 19 at either side. The groove 18 is merely provided to enable the slanting grooves 19 to be properly cut; but the rear groove 17 serves to retain and lock the lugs 20 of the barrel after the shot has been 'fired and the recoil has taken place. By this means the barrel will be locked in its rearward position until the breechblock has been properly locked to discharge the next cartridge, whereupon the barrel will be unlocked and may move forward into the proper tiring position. The operation of this part of the invention takes place iu the following manner: Immediately the weapon has been discharged the barrel recoils, and since the lugs 20 are lying in the twisted or inclined grooves 19 at the forward end of the same the barrel in recoiling will be twisted or turned until the lugs 2O reach the rear annular groove 17. This movement turns the lugs 22 out of the ends 1l of the compound grooves 1l 24, and further rearward motion of the barrel 21 is prevented by the groove 17. The breech-block, however,

continues its rearward movement, and in so doing it turns the barrel 2l farther, owing to the passage of the inclined slots 24 over the lugs 22.. This further turn of the barrel locks the lugs 20 in the rear slot 17, as indicated n Fig. 1. When the breech-block returns, he slots 11 24 first turn the barrel so as to ring the lugs 2O into position at the ends of he grooves 19 under the action of the spring t5, and the movement of the breech-block urns the barrel into the front ends of these grooves, so that all the parts are in position 'or the next discharge.

The second part oi the invention, which relates to improvements in the magazine and Bartridge-feed device, as also to their particilar arrangement, will now be described.

The magazine 26, into which the frame of zartridges is placed, is pivotally supported at 27, so as to swing laterally in the pistol-frame 1. Thus when the last cartridge has been discharged and the magazine is to be reloaded the magazine is swung around on its pivots 27 into`theuposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The empty cartridge-frame is then pushed out at the bottom by the filled frame being inserted at the top. The bottom is closed by the bow-shaped part ot the pistol-frame 1 when the magazine is returned to its normal position recharged. A snapspring (not shown) may be employed to retain the magazinein its closed position. This arrangement has the advantage that the bottom of the magazine is always closed when the pistol is in use, so that no dust can get into it. The cartridge feed or lifting plate 29 is guided by means of its guide-cheeks 40 sliding in grooves 4l at the rear wall of the magazine, and as soon as the last cartridge has been discharged the raised end of the guide-cheeks 40, Fig. 2, projects into the path of movement of the breech-block in. front of the part 43, Fig. 6, and prevents its return. As soon, however, as the magazine is swung out to receive a new cartridge-frame the projecting end of the guide-cheeks would be moved away from the breech-block and allow the same to return, and in order to prevent this taking place the magazine 26, Fig. 3, is provided with a laterally-extending lug 36, the end ot which remains in the path of movement of the breech-block when the magazine is swung out, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. A spring 82 maybe inserted between the pistol-frame walls and the side of the magazine, said spring serving to press the magazine outward as soon as its retainingcatch is released. It it is desired to use the pistol in the ordinary manner and to loa-d through the cartridge-opening 3l, Fig. 1, with cartridges supported in the ordinary cartridge-frame having a back plate, the car- Itridge-lifter 29 and the bottom plate 30 of the magazine are turned about as shown in Fig. 9, so that the lifter-plate 29 will slide on the front wall of the magazine. The lifter-plate in both cases is raised by a spring after the manner of adiininutive builer-spring, as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 2, said spring being mounted between the oppositely-extending projecting pins 49 and 50. When the parts are turned about as illustrated in Fig. 9, the litter-plate 29 would not reach far enough back when the last cartridge has been tired to keep the breech-block properly back, and in order to properly retain the breechmy block at this moment the same is provided at its forward part with two notches 42, Fig. 6,- into which the cheeks 40 spring when the last cartridge has been tired, and thus the breechblock is retained open for the next charge. It', however, another frame of cartridges is inserted, the lifter-plate will be depressed, and as soon as the top cartridge has been pressed home by the thumb ot the operator the breech-block having no further hind rance would spring forward and injure the thumb, and in order to prevent this from taking place a spring-pressed lever 37, Fig. 6, is pivoted in the housing 1 to swing laterally through the housing or frame wall, and when pressed inwardly by the thumb it will project into the path of movement ot the breech and its shoulder will arrest the breech-block by contacting with one of the lugs 12 or with any other suitable point of the breech-block, it being immaterial where the said thumb-lever is mounted as long as it is in some convenientpart. Thus when the weapon is being loaded with the ordinary cartridge-frame this lever 37 should be pressed in against the action of its spring 38', and when the cartridges have been pressed home and the thumb removed from the breech it may be released and will .then release the breech block, which will force the top cartridge into the barrel in the g well-known manner. The sides of the maga-v zine may be covered with cheek-pieces 44,`

Figs. Sfand 8,and the magazine will thus servel asthe handle of the weapon. The swinging moivemen-t of the magazine on its pivot islimited by the projection 33, which moves in= ia groove 34, Fig. 7., the end of the said groove` Aserving to limit the swing of the magazine. In this class of pistol the iiring-pin is retained 4from moving forward when the breech-block Iis advanced by means of a spring 6, Fig. 2f.

fits pressure has to be overcome by the blow iof the hammer. Thus the danger that the :tiring-.pin might spring forward by the impetus of the forward movement of the breech-- block and. discharge the cartridge is still presont. In order to obviate this disadvantage, =the bolt 4o, which, with its spring 47, serves to operate the hammer 45, is prolonged upwardly and extends into a longitudinal slot of the firing-pin. This slot is provided with a shoulder 48, and as the breech-block iiies forward the end of the bolt 46 meets this shoulder 4S and effectually prevents thc gun from being discharged. Nhen the hammer is operated by the trigger mechanism, the bolt 46 is released, and the spring 47 forces the same downward to operate the hammer. This brings the upper end of bolt 46 out of the path of movement of the shoulder 48, and the iiringpin is free to discharge the cartridge.

In the present case a device is also provided This spring must necessarily be light, since for securing the hammer against' accidental movement. As previously mentioned, the hammer is operated by the pressure of the bolt 46, and the hammer is held cocked by the bar 53, which extends under the heel of the hammer and prevents the action of the bolt 46. The forward end of this bar is hollow, and a spring 51 is located therein, the forward end of which rests against the upwardly-turned 'arm of a pivoted lever 52, the lower arm of which is provided with a shoulder adapted to abut against a lug 52a, formed on the bar 53, and prevent the forward movement of the latter until the said shoulder has been removed from the path of movement of the lug. The rear end of the lever-arm 52 engages a recess in the fore end of the trigger 54, and when the trigger is pulled the lower arm of lever 52 will be moved down, thus bringing the shoulder out of the path of movement of the lug 52 of the bar 53. A further movement of the trigger in the same direction brings lthe spring-pressed latch 55, carried by the trigger, into contact with the opposite side of the lug 52 and moves thev bar 53 forward, thus releasing the hammer to discharge the pistol. At the same moment the latch 55 leaves the lug 52 and allows the bar to fall back under the infiuence of its spring 51, so that the said bar is in its initial position again before the hammer has really been fired, and this bar will be pushed back again by the forward movement of the heel of the hammer when the latter is thrown back by the recoil of the barrel. At each recoil the movement of the parts will reload the pistol and recock the hammer; but if the hammer has been released it cannot be recocked by hand until the trigger has been pulled back a certain distance, because until the shoulder of the lever 52 has been withdrawn from in front of the lug 52 the rod 53 cannot be pushed forward by the butt of the hammer to enable the latter to be passed back to the cocked position.

Another advantage of the spring-pressed bolt 46 being prolonged upwardly, as previously described, consists in the fact that the same may serve as an ejector to push the cartridge-case out.

We claim as our invention- 1. In an automatic firearm having a movable barrel and breech-block the combination of a forward and rearward pair of lockinglugs on said barrel and means for imparting to the said barrel a combined rotary and longitudinal movement and an independent ron tary movement so as to lock the barrel either to the breech-block or to the pistol-frame substantially as described.

2. In an automatic tirearm,the combination of a sliding and rotary barrel and a sliding, non-rotary breech-block, having a spring to actuate the same forwardly after the recoil. a stationary locking-cylinder at the forward end of the pistol-frame and lugs on the for ward barrel end to engage therewith, a pair of: rear lugs on the said barrel and grooves in the breech-block having longitudinal extensions and spirally-'shaped rear ends in which said rear lugs engage and means in connection with the forward locking-cylinder to partially turn the barrel at the commencement of the recoil movement and then to arrest the rearward progress of the barrel, whereupon the motion further rearwardly of the breech-block imparts by means of the said spiral grooves a rotary movement to the barrel to lock it in the rearward position substantially as described. l

3. ln an automatic firearm the combination of a longitudinally-movable barrel and a longitudinally-movable breech-block having a forward extension to partially inclose said barrel, a stationary locking-cylinder at the forward end of the barrel and means in connection therewith to impart to the barrel at the commencement of the recoil a combined longitudinal and rotary movement, and then to stop the longitudinal movement, and means in connection with the barrel and breechblock to subsequently impart rotary motion only'to the barrel by the further movement of the breech-block backward, substantially as described.

4:. In an automatic firearm having means for imparting a combined rotary and longitudinal motion to the barrel and a subsequent rotary motion only for the purpose specified the conibination of a magazine mounted below thc breecubloelr and pivots to support said 1n agaaine within a bow-shaped part of the pistolframe so as to allow the same to be swung out of the pistol-frame laterally, said bowshaped frame serving'to close the lower end of the magazine when the same is in normal position, the said end being open for the discharge of the magazine-case when the magazine is swung aside,substantially as described.

5. In an automatic firearm having means for imparting to the barrel a combined rotary and longitudinal movement at the commencement of the recoil and a subsequent rotary locking movement as and for the purpose specified, the combination of a magazine and means for enabling the same to be swung laterally out of the pistol-frame, a laterally-arranged lug on the said magazine to move into the path of movement of the breech-block and prevent the same from moving forward when the magazine is swung out in the manner and for the purpose substantially as de scribed.

6. In combination, the breech-bolt having a shoulder 4:8, a hammer and a spring-pressed bolt 4G engaging the hammer, said bolt being raised into the path of the shoulder 48 when the hammer and breech-.bolt are retracted, substantially as described.

7. In an automatic firearm of the class specified the combination of a bar 53 to arrest, with its rear end the hammer in. its cocked position and having its forward end in conneotion with the trigger mechanism, said bar being` located laterally ol the magazine and means for moving the same longitudinally to release the hammer 'by the trigger movement. in the manner andfor the purpose substantially as described'. l

. S. In an automatic firearm of the class speer Afied the combination of a hammer and liammer-retaining bar 53, a stop at the lowerforward end of said bar, a spring to normally press said bar toward the ham mer, an anglelever 52 pivotally mounted with its upper arm across the front end of said bar and a shoulder on its lower arm to extend into the path of motion ofthe said barstop and means essere in connection with the trigger for Withdrawt ing,` said shoulder from the path of movement of the stop immediately the trigger is actuated and before the hammer is released and for returning the sl'ionlderin front ot' the bar after the hammer has been actuated substan o tially as described.

In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGES ROTH. CHARLES KRNKA.

Witnesses :l v

ALVESTO S. Homin, AUGUST FUGGER. 

